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Chapters
In this Forbes article we understand that humans have the capacity to pay attention to something for long periods of time. This can go up to 8 minutes in fact.
Though this contradicts the common saying that humans have the attention span of mere seconds, we have to realise that most users on social media are not actively putting their full attention and brain energy to your content and most of us are using divided attention.
That is one reason why copywriting matters - a damn lot.
Copywriting is everywhere. From your captions on TikTok, to your Instagram bio, to the introduction on your website, to your blog posts, even your email newsletters, and it is the key to effective communication.
Good copies should
be clear
flow nicely
be concise
free from jargon
be structured properly
As social media continues to evolve at a rapid pace and competition arises, the significance of great copywriting cannot be overstated.
That's why by the end of this article you will learn 8 common copywriting mistakes to avoid when you write your next copy for your brand so you can effortlessly stand out from the crowd.
Let's begin.
1. Same copy for on-screen text and caption
Let's take Instagram Reels as an example, but this is relevant to other platforms too. It's important to make use of on-screen text when it comes to short form video content like IG Reels and TikToks. It can grab the viewers' attention and get them to stay longer on your post to read the text, which helps to tell the algorithm to push your content out to more relevant people organically.
If your video and on-screen text managed to grab your viewers' attention, their next move is most likely to expand and read your caption.
However, you should avoid using the same copy for your on-screen text and the caption below. This not only could come off as laziness, but it does not serve value or serves little value to anyone who reads it. Here are examples of great practises for short video captions.
Expand further on what was written or shown in the video.
Provide extra details that give value to your audience.
Make use of humour.
Tag relevant accounts if necessary.
Don't forget your CTA (call-to-action)
A great video with a bad caption is like starting off strong and ending poorly.
2. Writing in jargon
Jargon refers to specialised terminology or language that is highly specific to a particular profession, industry or field of study. Why you need to stop writing in jargon:
It alienates your audience.
It is harder to read and understand.
It could come off as being pretentious.
You should know who you are targeting and the demographic that watches your videos. If your target audience largely consists of young adults who do not fall under the high income bracket in your country, showing off a lavish lifestyle on your profile will not appeal to them.
Therefore, the same concept applies to the words you use.
If you are a doctor who creates educational content for people who are not doctors, avoid using medical jargon that only doctors understand.
Here's another angle to see this.
Would you search for "How to organise my home." or "Strategies to collocate my accommodation." ? You get the point. Most people online choose simplicity.
3. Writing in large paragraphs
Nobody likes to read chunky square blocks of words especially on the Internet. Keep in mind that most users will be reading our copies on their phones. Times have changed. We do not read from newspapers anymore. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Our eyes will get tired from blue light.
We usually use our phones on-the-go.
Phones screens are way smaller than printed media.
We typically do not read for very long on our phones, e.g. on the toilet.
More often than not we do not choose to actively read something on our phones. We usually scroll on social media while we are doing something else.
So break your paragraphs up into smaller more digestible chunks and follow the one paragraph one idea rule so you do not squeeze too much information in one block.
4. Not thinking about SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) writing involves crafting and writing content with the purpose of boosting its visibility on search engines such as Google by strategically incorporating relevant keywords to improve its ranking.
This applies mostly to website owners, bloggers and long video creators, from the articles we write, to the titles of our YouTube videos, SEO matters a lot more than we think. We sometimes think of YouTube as a social media platform, but it is technically a search engine just like Google.
By understanding what our target audience is searching for online, we can use this knowledge to incorporate relevant keywords into our content so that they are more likely to get found.
Paid tools like Semrush are great for this as they have incredible features like on-page SEO, local SEO, competitor analysis, etc. but don't worry! We are still able to have limited access to some of their free tools like the Keyword Magic Tool which can provide valuable data such as keyword difficulty, cost per click (CPC) and even give other relevant keywords.
Google Trends can be free way to check for keywords. Though it lacks the tools that Semrush has, it should not be overlooked.
What we like about Google Trends is it provides you with data of how popular a keyword is on Google overtime and you can also compare it to another keyword of your choice.
Give it a try if you haven't already!
5. Selling the features and not the benefits
"Sell the sizzle not the steak." - Simon Squibb, founder of HelpBnk.
That was a line that caught my attention when watching one of his recent videos here.
This applies to you if you are creating promotional content for your brand or business.
Let's say you sell something common, like water.
Writing about the benefits or outcomes that the water provides your customers are a way better writing strategy compared to if you write about how great your water is, because whether you accept this fact or not, no one is likely going to care about which part of the Alps you sourced your water from.
People just want to get hydrated.
Plus, this is why branding is incredibly important.
Apples sells innovation, not tech products.
Lego sells creativity, not plastic building blocks.
Tesla sells the notion of being green, not electric cars.
So write about the emotional or tangible benefits your customers get from your service or product and your promotional content will perform better.
6. Passive voice
Writing in passive voice is something we do unconsciously most of the time but here's why 99 out of 100 times it is best to avoid it.
Clarity and Directness. Active voice makes your writing clearer and more direct. It's easier for readers to understand who is doing the action when the subject is clearly stated at the beginning of the sentence. Engagement and Interest. Active voice tends to be more engaging and interesting to read. It brings energy and dynamism to your writing, keeping your audience interested and involved in the content.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Active voice could improve your SEO because search engines generally prefer content that is clear, concise and easy to understand.
So in summary, passive voice in online writing
is harder to write.
is awkward to read.
is less straightforward.
is harder to understand.
shifts the focus to the action rather than the subject.
has more potential for grammar mistakes especially if English is not your first language.
It's one of those things where it works perfectly fine in regular daily speaking but matters a lot in writing.
7. Too, MANY... punctuations!
Did you notice how awkward it was to read the title above?
Here's why you shouldn't add too many unnecessary punctuations in your online writing.
Readability Decline. Excessive punctuation can disrupt the reading flow, making it difficult for readers to understand your main message.
Aesthetic Distraction. Overuse of punctuation marks such as exclamation points or commas can create a cluttered and unprofessional appearance.
Loss of Credibility. Misuse or overuse of punctuation can undermine the credibility of the content, author and even your brand, especially if English is not your first language.
This is not a do-or-die kind of thing but it still serves its importance in writing; Take note of punctuations.
8. Missing CTA
CTA refers to Call-To-Action. Think about what you want your audience to do next after consuming your content. If you do not include a CTA you are missing out on an opportunity for users to have another interaction or online footprint with your brand.
Here are some examples of CTAs.
Leave a comment.
Share this post.
Save this post.
Tag us.
Click on a link.
Buy our product.
Here's a strategy that we found works pretty well especially if you have a decently active community.
Instead of saying "click the link in my bio", tell your audience to comment a specific word in the comment section of that post. This works because
it's less friction for users
you will get more comments on your post
more comments = the algorithm will organically promote your post more
So if there's one thing you have to takeaway and apply immediately after reading this article, it's to add a CTA in every post.
In a nutshell
Never press publish without proofreading. We hope these tips were helpful to you and we can't wait to see what you create for your brand. The Creative Pistachio was founded with a mission to help people like you share your ideas online by creating valuable content for your audience. We are constantly finding ways to help you get creating. If this sounds like you and you found this article helpful, here's how you can support us:
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Building an online community is one of the strongest organic marketing strategies today. We recently shared how you can build an online community for your brand here. It's a good read. We promise. See you soon and keep creating, friends!